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Doc Corenman,
I really admire your professional protocol. Im meeting with my gp, who I consider to a true advocate this week. The surgeon who was approached to review and reinvigorate my back fix strategy. He also said he had no problem with the med that the Pain Mgt people forced me to stop taking in order to have the epidurals.
I also discussed with my new Pain Mgt doc that the Zanaflex that has been prescribed to me now to deal with my neuromuscular dysfunction works much differently than the previous med…and while It doesnt touch the pain that is constant in my rump thru my low back….it does let my muscles work more efficiently. While I cant really do anything athletic above ground, I have been able to keep my metabolism up by excercising and stretching in the pool.
I hope I dont sound too pathetic. In person I think you would be able to discover several things regarding my back that the folks here in Florida are necessarily worried about….because most snowbirds arent interested in doing the Leadville 100, hiking a 14teener, or running a weekly Nastar race.
I will in discussion with my gp this Thursday. I am going to bring a copy of this conversation so he can see that I am extremely invested in getting beyond surgery and back to life.
My gp should be supportive.
Thank You
Hello again, Dr Corenman.
My new gp had me contact a new surgeon to review the notes of both the previous surgeon and the notes from the Pain Mgt/Epidural group.
He couldn’t believe what I told him, and simply shook his head when he read the surgeons notes. He basically told my mom and I that there were serious aspects of the surgeons process that were suspect.
He also noted that the Pain Mgt people did not follow normal procedure and basically were not providing services efficiently and appropriately.
He then said he was gonna talk the original surgeon’s head surgeon(boss) to discuss the younger surgeons methodology.
Apparently i have been a victim of some questionable medical practices.
I have been so goofed up by this injury I have not done my proper homework on how insurance works, but I was told that I could have my surgery out of state as long as my doctors here are in agreement ….within reason.
Would it be better for my doctor to call you regarding a potential surgical workup, or should I do so personally.
I have mris, discogram results that are relevant, notes from all my surgeons as well as two different ncs/emg tests. One very recent….(no actual damage to sciatic nerve, its just severely compressed). My gp had some other tests performed by his physical therapist who verified that besides the mechanical issue that is causing my pain and muscular dysfunction….im fit as a fiddle and a fantastic candidate for surgery…as I am in as good or better shape than most with my type of injury that requires surgical intervention.
In short, I am more interested in having my back work done by someone who understands the needs of a mountain man, not an old snowbird.
Frontier just started flying from my driveway to Denver…..
Your forum gives people so much hope.
Great to know the good guys are still out there doing amazing things.
Florida would have you think differently.
Thanks
I find your book just fine in black and white and I can see how you do your own style sketchwork when discussing medical issues…good stuff.
One of the videos I saw of yours showed a x-ray of the lumbar region almost in 3d….it was grayscale…but it really was helpful in visualizing the back. Was that imagery from your equipment?
I think someone needs to develop an app for a tablet that could allow you to do the same style sketching you do on the paper onto a virtual canvas….perhaps easier to store for use in future books…etc.
Im sure there are bunch of companies already developing stuff like that…just havent seen anything in your field of work.
Ive notice some of the new gizmo videos that are out there that use high end computer animation to show what they are supposed to do….but after getting bilked by that two level IDET…. I would rather have a hand sketched set of notes from my doctor than a glitzy “too good to be true” cd or ambiguous pamphlet that seems to be the industry norm.
In two weeks im doing a jump to new gp. Very excited. New meds are working decent. My muscle tone is much better and smoother, but the neuro pain is “hotter”… My newer pain environment is much more limiting also. I have less ability to tolerate pain….which stinks. I was poker-facing it much easier before. ;)
My mind is sharp, but the pain in my back/buttocks is sharper.
Regards.
Thanks Dr Corenman.
It has been a “unnerving” experience.
Im gonna clean up my medical relationships here for sure.
Nobody needs to go through what I just did…
That said…after I get my ducks in a row here, I would like for you to do a workup. Your book is the only thing keeping me on target.
My new pain med is allowing me to use muscles that would have spasms on old med. Quite happy with the change, even though the neuro noise is louder…I can handle it as long as my legs work.
Im also being hammered by outside forces that keep me from addressing my back/butt/lumbar. Life, family, social climate, etc.
Thanks again.
The world needs more people like you. The truth is awesome…even if its imperfect. Your response regarding the IDET I had in ’07 was spot on.
PS1…Do you have plans for reformatting your book to include color imagery and newer discoveries, etc? Every spine doc needs a copy.
:)
in reply to: 10 months post L5-S1 micro, still severe weakness #11006Thanks for getting back to me Dr Corenman. The micro nucleoplasty was also called a percutaneous nucleoplasty. The doctor inserted a electrical device into my disc and heated the end. He explained that this would help firm up the disc while reducing the size of the disc material in the canal thru a process that he described as a 10% reduction in disc shrapnel size that should give me relief. IDD or IDT …..something like that. Yeah…and I guess I was a guinea pig… ?
Before the procedure I was in mental distress from a car accident in Glenwood Springs canyon, so I quickly agreed to a discogram before final procedure decision. The discogram was provocative….When he pumped up the pressure in my L5/S1 disc…my pain while lying flat was 8-9 . I remember leaving my body and being really aggravated at the person who seem to be annoying me. Looking back, it was not one of my shining moments in decision making.
That was then.
This past six months I got some serious run around from the local community. My pain mgt/aenesthia group has a policy that they wouldnt prescribe muscle relaxers. I had been on Soma since 2002….so I was a little concerned that I might have some adverse affect to the steroids if not on Soma….I voiced my concern about this change in my meds and one of the office doctors acquiesced and wrote me a month script for the soma and combined with the second epidural…I had amazing breakthroughs in nerve conductivity and muscular communication. It was the best I had felt in over a decade…..and I reported this to two of the surgeons I was talking too.
I described this breakthrough to my doctors and Golish said i should go for a third to verify that we were in fact targeting the correct areas and the surgery results should try and duplicate the breakthrough sensatiions and experience. I went back in for a third epidural and thats where thepain mgt people said that I would not be getting soma for this round of steroids.
I wasnt told that I should also be aware that there might be issues with Soma withdrawal.
I got the 3rd epidural, thinking that I could make the most of it and just get to surgery. I was wrong. Not only was i unable to take advantage of the epidural window….the roids ramped the pain up to an obnoxious level. I survived it…it was scary, but when meeting with Golish to schedule the decompression surgery, he opted out….using a multitude of excuses.
It was hard take….none of it sounded legitimate, professional…and his decision to not operate revoled around the failure of the third epidural. No mention of the fact that the withdrawal from Soma was a bit frightening…and the pain mgt people were acting very sketchy.
A few days have passed…and Im still here. I have stayed away from the Soma and actually feel better, but I cant drive or sit because the nerve under my piriformis is so testy…it causes several muscle groups in my rump to spasm….with a ramp up on the pain scale by 3.
Im back on the hunt for answers and I would love to have you look at my mris and records…..perhaps even set up a consult in Vail. I need an excuse to get out of Florida, anyhow.
Im thankful for your words. I had no idea how crazy the system has gotten …especially here in south Florida.
Im gonna be in touch with your office.
Ron
in reply to: 10 months post L5-S1 micro, still severe weakness #10953Greetings …ward and Dr Corenman.
I had a procedure done…micro nucleoplasty that later failed.
Although all of my symptoms that we were trying to fix were on my left side/left leg, the post surgical bruising and inflammation caused me to have foot drop in my right foot.
My rehab guy picked up on it right away and use an electrical stim unit along with physical manipulation to help me reconnect the neuropathic signal to my foot so that once it realized it could communicate with the head, it responded well to rehab. It went away.
I still have my left side injuries that have been mostly untreated for over a decade….but hay is for horses.
Keep your mind fit and everything else will follow.
Putting the muscle back on can be rough and frustrating.
Hang in there and keep your thoughts positive, and remember that there are some real docs out there that do care.
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